No. 5 Gymnastics Begins Season on Friday

BATON ROUGE – Nine months removed from the program’s third NCAA Super Six berth in the last six seasons, the fifth-ranked LSU gymnastics team is set to begin the chase again as the Tigers open the 2014 campaign against in-state foe Centenary on Friday.

The meet will begin at 7 p.m. CT inside the Maravich Center, and tickets are still available by visiting http://www.lsutix.net/ or calling the LSU Ticket Office at 225-578-2184.

LSU is under the direction of D-D Breaux, the “Dean of Coaches” at LSU, who enters her 37th season as head coach of the Tigers.

LSU has high hopes in 2014 after returning 13 letterwinners, including seven All-Americans, five All-SEC performers and an individual national champion from last year’s Super Six squad.

“During the fall the coaching staff and our gymnasts expressed high expectations and goals, and now it’s time to achieve,” Breaux said. “This isn’t about the opponent that is on the floor with us at any given time. It’s about us turning in a quality performance and competing at the highest level we possibly can, week in and week out.”

The first 2,500 fans in attendance Friday night will receive 2014 LSU gymnastics schedule magnets, and prior to the meet LSU will honor last season’s accomplishments by dropping the 2013 Super Six banner as well as Courville’s national title banner.

“We want our fans to show up and celebrate last season’s achievements with us, and we want to use that as a springboard for this season,” Breaux said. “When we get out on the arena floor, we want the gymnasts to have a great time and have fun because we have done the preparation with a consistent work environment in the gym.”

Live video and stats are available at www.LSUsports.net for fans unable to attend the meet, and fans can also receive live updates by following the Tigers on Twitter @LSUgym and at www.Facebook.com/LSUgym.